Newscast

Today is the first day of voting in Russia's presidential election which is all but certain to hand Vladimir Putin another six years in power. Adam is joined by Catherine Belton, journalist and author of Putin’s People, and former British Defence Attaché to Moscow John Foreman. They discuss the tactics used to fixed the election, Macron’s failed attempts at diplomacy and how interested Rishi Sunak...

Today, we look at the prime minister ruling out a general election on May 2nd, the same day as the local elections. And we look at what extremism means after a new definition was revealed by the government. After days of speculation in Westminster, Rishi Sunak has told ITV News there won’t be an election on May 2nd to coincide with the local elections. Adam and Chris discuss whether this means the...

Today, we look at the prime minister’s refusal to return a £10 million donation from a Conservative donor who reportedly said MP Diane Abbott “should be shot”. Plus are women who freeze their eggs being “misled” by some clinics? PMQs was today dominated by the ongoing row surrounding alleged comments made about the former Labour MP Abbott by tory donor Frank Hester. The PM said Mr Hester's alleged...

Today, we look at the reaction to the alleged comments made by Tory donor Frank Hester as well as warnings from a watchdog that pet owners are overpaying for medicines. Adam and Chris discuss the reported remarks by Frank Hester, who has donated £10 million to the Conservative Party, after Rishi Sunak’s person described the donor’s comments as “racist”. Mr Hester's company said he "accepts that he...

Today we look at Lee Anderson defecting to Reform and the Kate Middleton photo that everyone’s talking about. The former deputy chairman of the Conservatives became Reform’s first MP. The party’s leader Richard Tice explains why he wants Lee Anderson in the party. Plus the BBC’s royal correspondent, Daniella Relph, and disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring explain what cau...

Today, we look at the highlights from the 2024 Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Oppenheimer was the big winner of the night taking home seven Oscars while Ryan Gosling stole the show with his performance of ‘I’m Just Ken’. Emma Stone won Best Actress for her performance in Poor Things and Al Pacino caused confusion with his announcement of the winner of Best Picture. Adam is joined by the BBC’s cul...

Today, we look at whether Labour’s plans for the economy are substantially different to the government’s or not. And we get an update on the Princess of Wales. The shadow chancellor told Laura she would be "methodically" looking at ways to pay for Labour's existing spending pledges. But Reeves did not rule out making cuts in some areas. So how different are Labour’s plans to the government’s? Adam...

As the dust settles on the spring budget, Laura and Adam discuss disquiet among some Cabinet members. And Laura reveals some remarkable Westminster gossip.... Plus, we reflect on Theresa May’s time at Downing Street, as she joins nearly 60 current and former tory MPs that have decided to quit ahead of the next general election. Would she have handled Covid differently if she was still in charge? Y...

Today we look at the announcement that Theresa May will leave the commons at the next election with two former close colleagues. Ali Donnelly, her former deputy spokesperson tells Adam what it’s like to receive a death stare from her. Former political adviser Cleo Watson says Brexit prevented her focussing on her real priorities. Plus two mayors of the North West, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram s...

The Conservatives and Labour have been accused of a "conspiracy of silence" over the scale of spending cuts or tax rises by an influential think tank. Tough decisions would need to be made following the next election, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said. A day after the Budget, Adam and Chris ask Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride what that would mean if the Conservatives won it. We also ask...

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered the last Budget before the general election. Adam and Chris are joined by Dharshini David and Faisal Islam who discuss Hunt’s measures, Labour’s response, and what they mean for you. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC....

Today, we look at Super Tuesday, where Americans are voting for their presidential candidate across 15 states + What impact do reparations for slavery have here in the UK? Donald Trump and Joe Biden look all but set to secure their party’s nominations, but what can we learn about the coming Presidential election from the results? And why is Nikki Hayley hanging on? Adam is joined by former White H...

Today, we look at the US Supreme Court’s decision that Trump was wrongly removed from Colorado primary ballot. Colorado barred Trump from the state's ballot in December arguing the former president incited the 2021 Capitol riot. The decision all but ends efforts in other states to ban him from ballots. With a healthy poll lead, does this secure Donald Trump’s path to challenge for the presidency?...

Today, we analyse Laura’s interview with the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ahead of the budget. Laura and Paddy are joined by Torsten Bell from the Resolution Foundation to shed some light on what goes into making a budget and whether the chancellor has any room to manoeuvre this week. And Mariano Janin, the father of Mia Janin, a teenager who took her own life talks to Laura. He believes his daughter wa...

Today, we reflect on Rishi Sunak’s statement outside Downing Street on extremism and we look ahead to next week’s budget. Laura and Paddy break down the Prime Minister’s speech yesterday evening and explain what he was trying to achieve with it. And the budget will be announced on Wednesday afternoon, and it is reportedly, not going to be a budget that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, would have hoped...

It’s double episode Newscast kind of day! Rishi Sunak has made a surprise statement in Downing Street. He said democracy is being targeted by extremists, and there are forces that are "trying to tear us apart". Adam speaks to deputy political editor Vicky Young to discuss why Rishi Sunak made this speech today and what message he was trying to get across. And Newsnight Political Editor Nicholas Wa...

Today, we look at the result from the by-election in Rochdale. George Galloway from the Workers Party of Britain won with a resounding majority. Independent candidate David Tully came second as Labour and the Conservatives only received just over a quarter of the vote put together to come third and fourth. Is this a clear rejection of Keir Starmer’s position on Gaza? Adam is in the studio, Chris i...

Today, we look at the missed opportunities to stop Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens. An independent review has found Police "repeatedly failed" to spot warning signs about Couzens’ unsuitability to be an officer. Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Ms Everard while off duty in March 2021. The review also calls for a radical overhaul of police vetting and recruitment. Adam and Chris speak to M...

Today, we look at the government announcement of £31m for MPs’ security with politicians from both sides of the house. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater speaks to Adam about the threats she faces, how she deals with them, and what’s changed in the years since the murder of her sister Jo Cox in 2016. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood joins Adam and Chris to give his view on the new security measures, following...

Today, we look at the financial crisis at Birmingham City Council, which has led to the “largest” budget cut in local authority history + How is IVF impacting the US Presidential Race? The council is attempting to fill a £300m budget shortfall over the next two years after effectively declaring itself bankrupt in September. Plans to tackle the deficit over the next two years were signed off by the...

Today, we look at the continued row over Lee Anderson’s refusal to apologise for comments aimed at Sadiq Khan. The Ashfield MP has said his words were “clumsy”, but said saying sorry “would be a sign of weakness”. Rishi Sunak says the comments by Mr Anderson were “wrong” but fell short of describing them as Islamophobic. Plus Adam and Chris are joined by leader of the SNP in the House of Commons,...

Today we look at the Conservative party’s response to Lee Anderson’s comments about the London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Laura’s been talking to the Deputy PM Oliver Dowden. Paddy’s interviewed the former justice secretary Robert Buckland. Newsnight political editor Nick Watt is also in the Newscast studio for analysis on the politics of it all, and he helps us get to the bottom of the row over whether th...

Today, we look at the reasons behind Lee Anderson’s suspension from the Tory party after "refusing to apologise" for comments aimed at Sadiq Khan. The London Mayor has accused Anderson of racism. Laura and Paddy also speak to Vadym Prystaiko, former Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, about the two year anniversary of the Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine, and about his sacking by Volodymyr Zelen...

Today, we look at Shamima Begum losing her latest bid to regain UK citizenship, and the upcoming release of Keir Starmer’s political biography. Begum has lost an appeal against a decision to revoke her UK citizenship. The 24 year old travelled to Syria aged 15 to join Islamic State Group, with the government revoking her citizenship in 2019. Is this the end of her legal options? Adam is joined by...

Today we look at the pressure building on Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and ask whether he could be replaced as speaker of the House of Commons? Rishi Sunak says Sir Lindsay Hoyle's decision to break with convention on a Gaza ceasefire vote is "very concerning". More than 60 MPs now say they have no confidence in Hoyle, who has apologised twice for making the "wrong decision". Adam speaks to defence secretar...